Biologics is the New Buzz Word

Biologics is the new term for the treatment of musculoskeletal injuries utilizing PRP injections or stem cell injections. PRP is “platelet rich plasma” which allows us to draw blood from a patient, spin it down to concentrate the growth factors and inject those factors into an injured knee/shoulder/ankle or elbow joint.
Stem cells are pluripotent cells which means that these are immature cells which can develop into another type of cell if they are introduced into that new cells environment. Stem cells are either harvested from a patient’s bone marrow or fat (autogenous stem cells) or from the umbilical cord of a donor mother who has just given birth (allograft stem cells).
Stem cells have been shown recently to decrease soft tissue inflammation and promote healing of common soft tissue injuries including tendon, muscle and ligament tears. Stem cells have also been shown to decrease the inflammation of degenerative arthritis of the shoulder and knee and give prolonged symptomatic relief. There is no evidence, unfortunately as of yet, that stem cells grow new articular cartilage or reverse the degenerative changes of a joint. Hopefully, the future will be brighter in this battle to reverse the aging of damaged, arthritic joints.
The doctors at The Los Angeles Orthopaedic Institute have been using PRP and stem cells for the past 3 years and are experts at deciding which treatments would benefit specific patients.
Please contact and visit us to discuss if you are a candidate for these new biologics which are keeping patients mobile and living life to the fullest.